Google to turn some US offices into COVID-19 vaccination sites

• Google says it will open some of its US corporate spaces for use as COVID-19 vaccination sites.
• It announced Monday that "buildings, parking lots, and open spaces" would be available.
• It also plans to use search and Maps to show local vaccination availability and locations.

Google will open up some of its corporate spaces across the US to be used as COVID-19 vaccination clinics, the company announced Monday.

The company says it will start by partnering with the primary-care practice One Medical, which will run the sites in coordination with public-health authorities.

In a blog post, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company would repurpose some of its "buildings, parking lots, and open spaces" in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, and Kirkland, Washington.

A Google representative told Insider that the company wouldn't announce specific locations until enough vaccine doses were available.

The plans include only the US for now, but the representative said the company would later consider similar actions internationally.

The announcement is one of several new commitments the company is making to help the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine this year.

The company says it is also working to push authoritative information on vaccinations and vaccination sites to the top of search and Maps. Google plans to start showing state and regional distribution information on its search engine to help people find when they are eligible for a vaccine.

It also says it will use search and Maps to show vaccination locations, starting with Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas "in the coming weeks" with more states and countries to follow. Google says this will also include details on things like whether an appointment or referral is required and whether the site has a drive-thru.

To aid with vaccination efforts, Google says it will also pledge an additional $100 million worth of advertising grants for the CDC Foundation, the World Health Organization, and various nonprofits globally.

An additional $50 million will be put toward a partnership with public-health agencies for a marketing campaign to help reach underserved communities in the US, the company said.

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